Bed Bugs
by Mslead
Summary: It followed Lucy her entire life, scratching in her walls and sliding under her bed. A phantom with a warm touch and inviting voice that spoke of adventures. Nalu.
1. Are You-

A/N This is part 1 of a 3 shot. There are illustrations on my tumblr account. Here is a little something I've been sitting on for a while, hope you like it!

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The scratching was all Lucy ever heard. A soft dragging near her head, late at night. Almost as if it were in the walls itself. She didn't know what it was. Why it came at the same time every night was a mystery. But it disrupted her sleep with its quiet tapping.

Scritch, Scritch, Scritch went the rhythm. She didn't know where it came from or why. Only that for as long as Lucy could remember, that scraping noise within her walls was all she could ever hear.

From a young age, it became her lullaby. Even on the nights it messed with her sleeping, the frantic, hurried scratches would come to lull her back to bed.

And for a while, Lucy ignored it.

She told her dad about the scratches when she was little, believing them to be rodents or even bats in the walls. They called animal control to investigate, but much to Lucy's surprise, there never was a single one found.

Her room was clear and empty.

Quiet.

But at night, when she was alone, the tapping returned.

Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.

So she ignored it, believing it to be nothing more than her imagination as she got older.

But yet the child in her, the one with the vivid imagination and the steady supply of wild theories, could not help but wonder what lived in her walls.

Or what lived under her bed.

How many times as a child had she dragged her weary father into her room to force him onto his knees? All for the sole purpose of checking under her frilled bedskirts for any wild monsters that might have made a nest there. The closet would receive the same treatment, as well as the walls.

Each time, her father would give her an irritated look for disrupting his sleep before stomping off to return to his warm bed. He worked long and hard hours after his wife's death and no longer had the time to entertain his daughter's foolish thoughts. Leaving Lucy in the dark, the noises would return the moment he shut the door behind him.

When she moved out, she thought perhaps the noises would stop. After all, she would be out of the room she spent as a child. Perhaps she would be leaving behind whatever strange entity haunted her room as well.

The clicking continued into her new home.

And yet…

…Lucy felt relief.

The sensation of being watched never went away whenever she went to her room at night. Eyes followed her from the depths of her closet door when it was cracked open, or peeked from under the fluffy bedskirts. Sometimes Lucy even thought she saw those eyes, a striking shade of green reflecting back at her. Focused, ever watchful…

Warm.

The heat behind those imagined eyes was not the only source. Sometimes when she would move her hands through the folds of her closet, she thought she could feel a lingering heat. As if a hot body had been hiding among them seconds earlier but vanished without a trace.

Lucy thought she was haunted, but whatever ghost followed her didn't seem malignant so she left them alone.

Whatever pursued her seemed male. Lucy knew, because aside from the quiet scratches she heard in the walls of her bedroom, she sometimes could hear him.

His voice was low and rough, but soothing in its familiarity.

Lucy would keep her eyes shut when she felt her mattress dip down near her feet, a heavy, solid weight joining her on the bed and shifting near her feet. She was afraid if she opened her eyes, this phantom would disappear like he always did when her eyes were open.

"I miss you, Lucy."

His voice would rumble, just a whisper so she had to strain to catch his words. It sounded as if he was speaking through a bubble, a film covering between him and her. A ghosting touch would graze across her ankles, and even through bedsheets and blankets, she could feel the warmth of his hand.

"The others ask why I still visit you, but I just can't let go."

His grip would sometimes turn tight and shaky, but lacking the pressure to actually hurt her. In the back of her mind, she knew somehow he couldn't really touch her. Whatever she felt from him was merely an illusion. A comforting one, eerie from the way his voice was so far away - but always close by. Filled with affection and longing.

A hesitant touch grazed her cheek.

That was new. Lucy's heart jumped into her throat, and she fought not to stiffen under the curious exploration of his fingers. He seemed to memorize her face with his hands. The heat from his body warmed Lucy under her covers. An affectionate sweep against her forehead told Lucy he had pushed her hair from her face. The tips of fingers circled the curve of her ear to tuck away the errant strands.

She wondered what they felt like.

She wondered what he looked like.

Curiosity burned at her every night, but the new boldness with which he investigated made the desire to open her eyes and take a glimpse at this mysterious visitor. Lucy wanted to know what her imagination had conjured. Who was the man that spoke to her every night in growls and whispers. He told her of wild adventures to far off, imaginary lands. Stories of dragons and princesses, and the journeys they would travel on together. Friends. Companions.

The tales were all tinged with sadness.

Who was the man that scratched into the walls, longingly trying to get her attention. Was he a phantom or a hallucination? Or had Lucy gone crazy long ago?

"Every time I come to see you, it's like visiting a grave," His voice was thick. But he was close enough now Lucy didn't have to strain to catch his rumbling words.

His touch drew away, and Lucy became frightened he was leaving. There was something so final in the heaviness of his voice, it made alarm shoot through every nerve in her body. So absorbed was she in her fears, she almost missed what he said next.

"Why did you forget me Lucy?"

Forget him?

How could she forget someone she didn't know?

The mattress seemed to loosen, the weight from her nightly intruder lifting. He was withdrawing, a heavy sigh of regret puffing out against her face. The scent of ash reached her and she filled her lungs with it.

It was so familiar.

But he was leaving, and who knew when he would be back. Panic raced through Lucy at the thought of him leaving, possibly forever. No more scratches at her walls. No more stories to lull her to sleep at night. No more comforting squeezes to her ankles as a smokey voice spoke until dawn rolled through her curtains.

"Wait!" Lucy pleaded, snapping up, her eyes flashing open and her hand shooting out to grasp at empty air. Her hand found no purchase of course, grabbing at the darkness and chasing shadows. She sat upright, her mattress groaning from her shifting weight.

For just a second, she thought she had seen a man about her age. Just a glimpse of wild pink hair and startled, glowing green eyes before they popped out of existence.

Heart hammering in her chest, Lucy laid down into her pillows, disturbed. What had that been? A trick of the light - or something else? Unsettled by the new mystery before her, Lucy turned onto her side, her back to her closet.

The sensation of eyes did not return for the rest of the night.

Her walls remained silent.


	2. -Afraid of-

Lucy twisted a lock of hair between her hands. She braided it with compulsive fingers as she took a cab back to her old childhood home. Nerves ran through her like a live wire and she couldn't help but jump with every pothole and bump in the road the car hit. Rolling hills and fancy houses flashed by the windows. A familiar estate she had left behind a long time ago come into view over the driver's side. Lucy's head dropped against her seat. In just moments, she would suffer through the dreary reminder of what awaited her.

Lonely hallways and even lonelier memories.

She thought when she moved away from home, her life would have gotten better. But it was clear she could never fully escape the Heartfilia name which haunted her. No matter where she went, Lucy was greeted with stares or whispers.

The Lady Heartfilia was too rich to be friends with, or have a normal childhood growing up. Private tutors on the estate were the only people to ever keep Lucy company after her mother died. Despite the fact she had escaped the luxurious life of an heiress, there had never been any room for fun. Only work and steadfast focus on achieving her goals.

It was lonely.

Which was why this whole excursion back home was both odd and uncomfortable. She didn't know why, but the image of her nightly visitor branded itself into her eyelids. Whenever she closed them, she could see the ghostly image of his face, for a flickering moment before he faded away.

She thought she imagined wild hair that hung in a curtain around his face. Bangs shadowed the strange eyes that gleamed so bright in the darkness. His skin was a bronze, but there had been something strange with it. Not forgetting the curved horns that stabbed at the air.

The man was handsome, but not classically so. That was all Lucy managed to gather before the image faded away like morning dew.

But his voice was something she could remember more than any image of his face. She had heard it more than once after all. The strength of his voice varied on a day to day basis. Sometimes he would speak loud enough she could mistake him for being in the room with her. And other days he would be nothing more than breezing whisper. It seemed the times he was the louder came when she was feeling most upset from the grind of her life.

 _'Why did you forget me Lucy?'_

The voice was rough and low. It invited her to remember. At the same time it was tinged with such bitter sadness, Lucy's heart went out for him. She had to know who this fantasy man was. Whether he was a phantom or a product of her own vivid imagination; Lucy felt like she owed herself an answer.

Thus the reason for her visit to her childhood home.

When she approached her father, he was buried neck deep in work as usual. Over the years he had become more accommodating to his daughter's interests, no doubt fearing their relationship would become forever estranged if things didn't change. They still weren't on terms Lucy could call 'good' - there were too many bitter feelings for them to completely ignore their past.

Still, there was progress.

Enough that Lucy had something to ask him. Something she would feel too silly saying over the phone.

If he was surprised by her sudden appearance back home, he said nothing. Jude Heartfilia was a shrewd man, knowledgable enough to know his daughter would not come home unless there was something of importance fueling that desire.

So he waited, if a tad impatiently for Lucy to spit it out.

Lucy swallowed, hating the feeling of foolishness that ran up her spine when she stood in front of her father's imposing desk.

"Did I have any friends with pink hair when I was little?" Lucy blurted, the question sounding silly the moment it left her mouth.

From the way Jude's eyebrows rose into his hairline, she imagined he shared her sentiment. But a shadow ghosted over his face, making her father look both sad and guilty. Before she could question why such a look came across him, Jude stood up from his large desk and shook his head.

"You didn't have any friends growing up Lucy," The man said, looking quite ashamed of this fact.

"We tutored you at home and with a private selection of educators," He continued, "There was no room for you to go out and play with other children."

Lucy's spirits fell as she remembered her bitter and lonely childhood, walled off from others her age. So there was no one? No one to bring a face or name to the strange man that visited her at night?

She guessed that was for the best. Maybe it was best to forget about him instead of chasing after a fantasy.

"I suppose it's no surprise that you created friends of your own though," Jude walked over to a distant corner of his office. Attention reinvigorated by his odd comment, Lucy watched him rummage through old dusty boxes. He pushed and pulled several aside, muttering as he checked their contents.

Within them, she noticed he pulled out a heavy looking folder of children's illustrations.

"Aha, here it is," Jude straightened and returned to his desk. He looked at the images within with a quiet air of fondness Lucy had never before seen in his eyes. So surprised, Lucy barely noticed the folder being shoved into her hands until she dropped it.

Papers spilled out on the floor, fluttering around her and falling through the air in tumbling sheets.

Together they bent down and began to collect the fallen papers, Lucy collecting all the folded sheets that were stained from a child's sticky hands. She couldn't help but hide a smile as she looked at the lovingly labeled folder.

It was her mother's handwriting, neat and cursive. It figured her mother would have been the one to collect all her drawings.

"Ah, this one here," Jude snagged a sheet of paper from the floor and passed it over to his daughter's waiting hands.

It was a drawing of her family. Jude at the top, and in ascending heights like children often drew, she had her mother, herself, and…

A peculiar, pink haired blob.

"Who's that?" Lucy breathed. Her heart suddenly seized, crawling up to her throat. As foolish as the idea was when she looked at a child's scribbles, something about the drawing seemed like an anchor.

Like she was on the verge of something important.

She held the paper between trembling hands, blood pounding in her head. Adrenaline followed excitement and she looked at her father with flushed cheeks.

He didn't share her enthusiasm and just scratched his head.

His name.

She needed to know his name.

"I dunno, he was your imaginary friend," Jude shrugged, "Nasty or something."

Nasty?

No.

Something tickled at her brain, telling her that was close, but not right. Not Nasty but…

Natsu.

It was like a bolt of lightening struck her at once. Memories flooded back to her as she remembered him. The small, strange pink haired boy that one day crawled out from under her bed with a bright, cheery smile. He radiated warmth and sunshine, with a pretty grin and an even happier disposition.

Lucy had accepted him with a laugh of her own, taking his excited declaration of 'Wanna play?' with as much grace as a four year old could have.

She was so lonely, but then one day Natsu had come. He was a strange boy, claiming to be a dragon from another world, but bearing no resemblance to one.

He was her imaginary friend.

And it was his job to make her happy.

They used to have so much fun together, playing in a strange castle conjured by Lucy's imagination. Sometimes they even played with Layla even though she could never see Natsu.

Natsu didn't seem to mind that Layla couldn't see him, but he appreciated the effort she made to keep up with their games.

For a while they were happy. Natsu was Lucy's best friend, a dragon and a princess going on adventures together.

Lucy realized those whispered stories she was told at night, were not just fables, but memories of a happier time.

What happened to Natsu?

The man who visited her at night was so tinged with sadness, he looked nothing like the happy boy she remembered playing with into the night. Long after she was supposed to go to sleep to wake up early for her lessons.

Troubled by the sudden emergence of her memories, and what it could mean, Lucy walked away from her questioning father in a daze. She walked through the empty corridors, occasionally passing the sparse staff member that paid her a polite greeting.

As if possessed, Lucy made her way through the well remembered steps to her old room.

It was just as she remembered, with tall white walls, pink striping on curtains and gleaming crown molding. Her throat went dry as she remembered the time Natsu accidentally set those curtains on fire, but of course she had been the one to get in trouble for it.

Lucy had been so mad at Natsu, but eventually forgave him for it when he brought her a doll from the mysterious place he lived. He thought she would like it.

A child's forgiveness was easily bought, Lucy thought with a wry smile.

More and more memories returned to her. Each one fueled the fear and worries she held deep in her heart. A reminder of who she had forgotten.

Promises.

Laughter.

Had her childhood really been as lonely as she remembered?

Lucy sank on the small bed she slept on as a young girl. The bed sheets were changed, but her father was sentimental enough to keep everything looking the same. When Lucy was older, she had simply moved away from this wing of the manor. At the time she thought the noises which plagued her at night would simply fall away.

But no matter which room she escaped to, the scratching in the walls would follow.

She suddenly understood why that was.

He was trying to talk to her.

He was trying to get her attention.

More and more memories returned, all of them pouring through her mind as Lucy sat still for hours, letting herself travel back. She remembered the odd boy screaming at her from a tree, claiming it was a mighty beast and she should climb aboard. Or how he would steal her ice cream when she wasn't looking, but it would melt all over both of them and make a mess.

How could she have forgotten all of that?

Fear suddenly gripped her heart as the room began to darken. Shadows stretched in long, inky stripes through her curtains. Each one signaled the heavy approach of nighttime.

Shuddering in the covers, for the first time since she was a young child, Lucy felt afraid for what would happen when the light completely faded.

But even back then, what did she have to fear from the dark? Natsu was always there watching over her, protecting her from the things that went bump in the night.

He was one of those things.

 _Scritch. Scritch. Scritch._

The moment the scraping started up, soft and slow this time, Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin. The room was dark now, the last minutes of sunlight draining away in the encroaching darkness.

 _Scritch. Scritch. Scritch._

She could feel his eyes on her. The quiet, intensity he was looking at her. For a second, Lucy thought she could ignore the scratches like she usually did. It wasn't as if he would ever even notice right?

She was afraid to face him.

Not out of fear he would hurt her, no - but shame she had even forgotten him. What would he say? Would he hate her?

Natsu hadn't given up on getting her attention for years.

Not once.

She bit her lip and looked back at the narrow closet doors. Summoning her bravery, she walked over and grabbed a hold of the doorknob. She tugged it open, her heart in her chest as her words climbed up her throat.

"Natsu..?"


	3. -the Dark?

Nothing happened. The tiny closet remained empty, not even an odd presence of warmth on the hanging linens Lucy sometimes felt. Had it been all in her head? Lucy didn't want to think so, but there was no telling what was real any more. She felt like she was living in an endless trip.

Thinking she would give up, Lucy sighed, disappointment hanging heavy over her. She pressed the doors shut.

" _Over here,"_ a rough voice teased her from behind.

Lucy whirled around, heart jumping into her throat and making itself comfortable in its new home. She hadn't actually expected anyone to appear, and so she barely could think straight when the man she was trying to summon spoke.

He sat on her bed, right where she had been just minutes earlier.

" _You think I can still fit in that tiny closet?"_ The man questioned with a cocky grin, his eyes glowing a bright, unnatural green. Their sharpness cut into Lucy's trembling form and slowly his smile fell from his face. Silence thickened between them as he noticed her stillness, pink brows pulling tight at the center in a frown.

There was Natsu, sitting on her bed. As solid as she was. His voice was strong and loud, clearer than she had ever heard it before.

But his appearance.

This was not the fluffy-haired boy she had played with as a child. No, the man sitting in front of her looked every bit the dragon he had once claimed to be. Something happened to her imaginary friend in the years he was forgotten.

Scales decorated his tanned skin, etched around the sides of his eyes, over his cheekbones and down his neck. Lucy traced the pattern of them with her eyes, following them down his front, where a tattered vest he wore exposed a well muscled chest. Black horns spiraled out from his hair, sharp fangs claimed the inside of his mouth, and his _**eyes**_. Where they had once been a soft gray, they now gleamed green, with reptilian pupils that cut like razor blades.

"What happened to you?" Lucy blurted at once.

A dark smile flitted over Natsu's face, something dangerous lurking behind sharp canines as those piercing eyes slid over Lucy once more. This way he took his time, making a show of taking in every inch of her.

" _Wow, rude. You don't talk to me in years and your first question is basically 'ew what happened to your face?'"_ Natsu rose, standing up and crossing the tiny room in one long stride. The smile twitching at his lips was torn between bitterness and genuine amusement, and Lucy thought he was dancing along the line.

"I-I, sorry it's just-," Lucy stammered, instinctively taking a step backwards. But they weren't children anymore. Both she and Natsu had grown up, and in her old room, small for a child, Lucy quickly found herself backed against the closet door.

Natsu's eyes flared a dangerous shade of green, a warning hue of emerald that glittered like twin jewels. Lucy swallowed as she stared into his warm, intense gaze. Finding herself trapped between him and the door, Lucy held very still.

There was something predatory in Natsu's eyes, something yearning by the way he looked at her. But despite that, the warmth she felt rolling from his body kept Lucy calm. It kept her feeling safe.

Natsu would never hurt her. She knew this truth down to the core of her gut.

She was proven correct when his smile softened and his eyes lidded into something much gentler.

" _It's okay. I understand. It's kinda weird,_ " Natsu leaned in, his movements slow and cautious. As he got closer, Lucy's heart went from its home in her throat onto making a full on escape for freedom out her mouth. However, when he innocently pressed his forehead against hers and just rested it there, Lucy found her pulse calming.

"Natsu I don't understand though," Lucy reached up, her motions hesitant, but she set her palm against his scaled cheek. His skin was warm, and the scales were surprisingly smooth, blending into the skin in an even transition, "You never used to have horns, scales, fangs and-and your eyes! What happened!"

Natsu hesitated, his mouth opening as something flashed across his face. Shame, worry, fear. He pulled away from her, turning away and moving back to the bed.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked, wariness growing in her at his lack of response. That could not mean anything good.

" _Are you afraid of me Lucy?"_ He almost looked scared himself. Lucy could tell in the way his glowing eyes slunk down to the plush carpet, his horned head bowing, " _The way I look now, it's… different, yeah."_

Uncertainty seemed to make his form waver, and the fear of losing him to something as insecure as doubt made Lucy practically throw herself across the room. Her hand caught his wrist, solid and warm in her hold. Natsu's turned in surprise, feeling her hand slide into his, squeezing her fingers through his.

"No I'm not afraid!" Lucy almost shouted in her haste to get through to him, "I'm just- I'm just ashamed!"

She caught the way surprise glanced over his face, jerking him around to stare her in the eye. Again his frightening gaze startled her, but she saw past it to the disbelief he wore so well.

" _Why would you be ashamed?"_ Natsu demanded, his expression fierce and almost angry from the force of his passion, " _I'm the one who failed you. I'm the one who should be ashamed_."

Lucy felt his hand tighten around hers and she gripped it back, their connection strong when she stared up at him, "I forgot you. What kind of friend am I to have forgotten about someone who was by my side for so long?"

"What kind of person does that make me?" Lucy whispered, but didn't let go of his warm hand. His skin was almost hot under her touch, the brush of scales across his knuckles a faint tickle against her fingers.

" _A good one Lucy,"_ Natsu's voice seemed to beg for her to believe him. She wanted to, she really did. His words, while rough and hushed, were like sinking into a warm bath. He was calming and exuded an aura of safety, " _You forgot me because you stopped believing in hope when your mother died. When she passed, so did all the things which make imaginary friends. You tried to grow up too soon and it was_ my _job to stop that."_

This jolted Lucy's attention back up to him, realization and dawning horror sinking into her. Slowly, her hand lifted up to his cheek, a thumb brushing a circle under one green eye. If what he said was true, then how was he still here? If Lucy had stopped believing in all the sweet things which made imaginary friends -

-What was Natsu now?

Could he be the manifestation of every bad feeling Lucy ever had?

"I did this to you?" Lucy's voice trembled as the beginnings of tears began to prick at her eyes. Guilt churned through her stomach like a rising wave. Bile wanted to creep up her throat, horror over the realization she had caused this transformation running through her veins.

Natsu opened his mouth, but closed it just as quickly. Lucy could see the evidence clear enough on his face - he couldn't lie to her. He never could. His eyes shuttered halfway and he looked towards the closet, expression dark.

"What happens to an imaginary friend when a child stops believing in them before they're ready to go?" Lucy's voice wavered. She didn't know what emotion drove her to feel the way she did, but she had to know the truth.

Slowly, those reptilian eyes returned to her. Natsu's face almost as if it were carved from stone.

A growl built in his chest, a deep rumbling noise that vibrated so loudly Lucy could feel it in her ribs. Slow, she dragged a step backwards in a hint of alarm, breath catching at the bitter smile slashing across his face.

Suddenly she knew the answer.

And she was sorry she asked.

" _They become Boogeymen,"_ He purred, head canting to the side as he noticed her hesitation, " _don't you remember?"_

Lucy did.

She remembered being crouched under a pillow fort with Natsu, both of them buried up to their necks in blankets and books and enough snacks enough to feed a small army. The only light came from a small burning flame in Natsu's palm, just bright enough to illuminate his face from the bottom.

And he told her stories. Of the creatures that came only at night, and the imaginary ones that had been forgotten.

" _They only exist when the sun goes down, hunting after the children that abandoned them. They never stop, never rest until they find their prey and feast on all the remaining good thoughts in their head," Natsu had said in a rush, young face eager. His opposite hand feigned a claw in the air and he bent forward, fire casting spooky light on his cheeks._

" _How will I know if there is one nearby?" Lucy had asked in fear, legs tucked up under her nightgown, enthralled and afraid of her friend's story._

" _You can hear them," He said ominously._

" _They scratch," Natsu gestured with his clawed hand, "Right against the wall._ _ **Scritch, Scritch, Scritch**_ _."_

How could she have forgotten such an important detail.

Natsu was a Boogeyman. She had made him into one the moment she stopped believing in him.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, hot streaks against her numb skin. Natsu was finally here to collect like all the old stories told. All the times Natsu warned her over the Boogeymen, a quiet reminder to always, _always_ check under her bed or in her closet for the creatures that lurked in the open shadows.

It seemed only right after all. The transformation must have been painful, the nights lonely and cold. Natsu could never see the sun again, bound only to his failed job. It didn't seem as if he had even attempted to move on. Tears wet her face, her sniffles catching Natsu's attention.

But perhaps if he took from her, it would soothe the pain that no doubt had burned itself into Natsu's very being.

So at the first touch of rough palms across the sides of her face, Lucy didn't flinch away. She only opened her eyes with acceptance and set her hand over Natsu's.

"You said before that boogeymen will hunt after the child that abandoned them," Lucy murmured, "They'll take, and take and take until there is nothing left of them. Until they are just a husk, devoid of any happiness."

Her bottom lip trembled and she squeezed his still knuckles.

"And only when they are done, they will take them away. Dragging them away to never be seen again," Lucy's breath hitched and she nodded at him.

Green eyes flared at her words, and Natsu took a step towards her. To her credit, Lucy didn't cringe away from him, her arms instead lifting to circle around his steady waist.

"I'm so sorry Natsu," She buried her face into his chest, "It's okay. Do what you have to do."

His body stiffened against hers, and Lucy felt him untangle their bodies with light presses.

" _Lucy NO, I don't want your happy memories,"_ Natsu's hands cupped her cheeks, his head dropping down to touch her forehead. His hands felt strong, and she suspected he could snap her in half with a twist of his wrist if he felt like it, " _They're of your mom and family, of us when we played together. How could I ever take those away? What kind of man would I be?"_

She felt a shiver of his fingers tracing against her temple, a light press that had warmth sinking into her.

" _I won't lie. I've always felt drawn to come to you,"_ Natsu confessed. His fingers scratching gentle paths against her hair, " _But I could never hurt you Lucy."_

He hovered closer, the tip of his nose skimming along the side of hers, and Lucy's heart ricocheted in her chest.

" _I've loved you for too long to ever let that turn to hate, no matter what happens to me."_

Silence drew between them, long, heavy and seemingly endless. Lucy stared at him in breathless awe, the shock of his words still resonating in her very bones.

Would a man visit her every night, sit at the foot of her bed and tell her stories if they meant her harm? Even though he had been nothing but a phantom, Natsu remained her constant companion.

A ghostly hand on her shoulder when she cried herself to sleep when she mourned her mother, a warm presence when her work day would leave her too exhausted to move from her bed.

He loved her.

So profound was the shock and warmth that jolted through her, Lucy almost missed his next words.

" _You should always hold onto that childhood hope,"_ He whispered to her, his forehead pressing into hers. Lucy's hands lifted to cup his cheeks, his mature face staring back at her in a stunning reminder of how much he had aged since they last saw one another. Despite some of his more frightening features, Lucy could see him staring back at her. Past the scales, the glowing eyes, horns and fangs, she could see _Natsu_.

Perhaps it was just how she calmed now, but she thought his new features suited him well. He had always been her dragon.

She felt his breath fan against her lips, his eyes flickering down to her mouth. Lucy caught sight of sharp fangs peeking out from his mouth and catching his bottom lip.

" _Lucy, it's also okay to grow up,"_ His head dipped, and Lucy felt herself rise on her toes, meeting the warmth of his mouth with her own. It was brief, fleeting and almost shy. But when she opened her eyes, she thought the sharpness in his eyes had dimmed.

Her hand flew up to her mouth, fingers touching still-warm lips. Natsu's face practically glowed with satisfaction, the blush adorning her cheeks a trophy he would no doubt carry in his memory.

To her surprise, he stepped away from her and held out his hand.

" _Like I said, I don't want your old memories,"_ Natsu's expression hesitated on hopeful, " _I want to make new ones. With you."_

"New ones?" Lucy asked hesitantly, her eyes drifting towards where Natsu was beginning to crouch near her bed.

His hand was still extended to her, an invitation for her to take.

" _What do you say to one last adventure Lucy?"_ Natsu asked, a wide smile so bright and loving on his face, Lucy couldn't help but smile in return despite her concerns. His free hand curled around the hem of her bed skirt, lifting it to expose the dark shadows beneath. They looked dark and consuming. Fear flickered in her chest and she bit her lip with indecision.

Sensing her hesitation, Natsu's eyes softened.

" _You don't have to be afraid Lucy. I'm with you, for as long as you want me to,"_ His voice was soft, but not insistent. It was merely a statement to ground her fears, and Lucy slid her hand into his.

"If I want to come back, can I?" She asked.

Natsu's lips twitched into an even wider grin if that was possible, " _If you want to."_

"Mighty confident you can keep me entertained, aren't you?" Lucy teased, light and breathless.

He pulled her closer, the chill of the shadows from under the bed dulled by the warmth radiating from Natsu.

" _I won't lose you again,"_ Natsu promised, his breath a whisper against her skin. His grip was firm but gentle, lips grazing her cheeks when he held her.

Lucy's eyes closed, suddenly feeling very tired. Natsu's arms were warm around her, an inviting heat that she sank into, boneless in his hold. It occurred to her, a distant thought in the back of her mind - that Natsu, ever a Boogeyman, was still taking her away. To a land of dreams and adventure.

Perhaps he was unable to resist his nature after all.

" _Go to sleep Lucy,"_ Natsu's voice guided her from the darkness, shielding her from the cold as it rapidly approached. Lucy felt the flutter of fabric from her bedding against her skin, fingers curling into his ragged vest.

" _When you wake up, our adventure will continue."_

Trusting his words, Lucy sank off to sleep, letting the monster under her bed take her away.

But when the bedskirt fell, leaving no trace of them, it did for the last time.

-::-

Days later when the authorities came asking Jude Heartfilia about his missing daughter, he would have no answer to give them. Nothing save the silence of his home was his company. The only thing left behind from his daughter's mysterious disappearance, was a single child's drawing, left on her bedroom floor.

Days stretched to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years.

Lucy Heartfilia was never found.

But sometimes, when Jude was feeling particularly lonely in his study, or right before he retired for the evening -

-He would hear the faint sounds of his daughter's laughter.

And the even fainter scratching on the walls.

 _ **Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.**_

* * *

 _ **The End.**_

 _ **Thank you everyone for sitting with me to read this three-shot series with me! I hope this met everyone's expectations! I certainly enjoyed writing it! So, again, thank you all for spending the time to let me know what you think! This is sort of an open-ending. I like to think it ends happily though. :)**_


End file.
